Orchestrated Violence

"Do we lose our humanity if we are deprived of the choice between good and evil?" (Kubrick). In Anthony Burgess' novel, A Clockwork Orange and the subsequent Stanley Kubrick film adaptation, this is just one of the many questions that arose. All too often, a successful novel is written, only to be later rushed into a derisive movie caricature of its printed predecessor. Kubrick, however, has a knack for using his directorial vision to help bring novels to life on the big screen through his use of images, music, editing, and evoking of characters' emotions. As evidenced by such works as The Shining, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Dr. Strangelove, Kubrick has demonstrated his ability take apart a novel and put it together his own way. 1971's A Clockwork Orange remains true to form, though it differs slightly from his previous adaptations in that it is closest to a direct conversion.

The novel showcases a satirical view of the near future, where violence among teens is rampant and a controversial, and a dictatorship type of treatment is seen as the only solution. The story follows Alex, a violent, "Ludwig Van" enthusiast teen with an appetite for sex. The plot consists of a roller coaster of beatings and sex only to wind up in an experiment by the government called the Ludovico Treatment to set Alex straight and condition him not only against violence and sex, but his love of music as well. What really sets this novel apart from similar futuristic, politically charged books is its dialect. Similar to the use of "newspeak" in George Orwell's 1984, Burgess has Alex, also the narrator, speak in "Nadsat", a slang which your viddy your glazzies on as soon as you open up the horrorshow novel of razrezzing and malenky malchicks. It takes some getting used to, but just a few pages in and it begins to roll off the tongue.

Kubrick was initially drawn to the novel because of the plot, characters, and its deliberate use of coincidence and plot symmetry. (Kubrick) Having just read the novel and watching the movie myself, some obvious differences stand out. Almost all of the voiceover narration is taken from the book verbatim, but there is also a lot of narration that isn't used. Instantly Kubrick's choices of narration can slightly alter the story. In the novel, Alex is conditioned against all music, but in the movie he's only conditioned to Beethoven's 9th symphony specifically. (Ager) Alex is conditioned against all forms of sex in the book, but only rape in the movie. There are also very slight character differences; for example, the "cat lady" in the book is very old, while she is young in the movie. There are also elements of sculptures and paintings used in the movie that aren't in the book which will be discussed later on.

I believe a large portion of the story that Kubrick wanted to carry out was the "eye for an